Tax Rebates

Advice on how to get a tax refund

An IRS tax rebate (also known as an income tax rebate or federal tax rebate) is the brighter side of filing an income tax return. Also known as tax refunds, tax rebates are the checks issued when individuals pay more taxes throughout the year than they were required to – the balance between the two is returned in the form of a tax rebate check.

How Do You Know if You Will Get a Refund?

While there is no 100 percent way to ensure the exact amount of your rebate check until your return has been processed by the IRS, tax preparation professionals are able to offer you an estimate of what your refund will be once they have filled out your tax forms. Tax preparation software will also offer you an estimate, though again, it is not guaranteed.

If you want to figure out whether you will be likely to receive a tax refund before you file, many tax websites offer estimating calculators, where you simply fill in a few key numbers (such as your income, your deductions, etc.) to find out if you have a tax rebate coming to you.

Increasing Your Income Tax Rebate

While you can't magically double or triple your tax refund, there are some small ways you can increase the amount you'll get:

Keep track of all receipts that can be claimed. Often, travel, medical and even some entertainment expenses can be claimed, but you need to have proof of your expenditures to back them up.

Research all the tax deductions and credits available to you. If you have a complex tax return, it may benefit you to consult a tax professional to help you uncover options that you otherwise may not have been aware of.

Avoid penalties and extra charges. File your taxes on time and be patient in waiting for your return, if you can. Often tax preparation agencies will charge a fee for on-the-spot refunds.

What to Do with Your Tax Rebate

There are many options available nowadays for both receiving and spending your tax rebate. You can opt for direct deposit, and recent advances now allow you to deposit into multiple accounts, which means you can tuck part of your check immediately into savings, while still having some left over to spend. You can also choose to apply your check toward next year's return if you anticipate that your circumstances will leave you owing the IRS.

One word of caution offered by most tax professionals is that you should never use tax rebate checks as an excuse to incur debt. There are many unknown factors that can affect or delay your rebate. The best plan is to treat the money as a bonus, to be saved or spent as you see fit once it arrives.